The more mature the democracy, the less likely the people are to trust the government, Umno Youth executive committee member Shahril Hamdan said today.

"As a democracy matures, as people get more informed, they are more likely to be less trusting of the figures in authority.

"So, whether you're with the government, a politician, big business leader or a corporate guy, people are going to be more cynical of you as they become more informed with the media," Shahril said after the results of a trust barometer study were presented in Kuala Lumpur.

As the people become more cynical of the government, they are going to view that whatever the government does is for its own self-interest, even if it was a good action, he added.

Politicians need to be aware of this trend, and must also do something to counteract the distrust, Shahril said.

He said in the earlier days, the people respected politicians and elected officials because of their positions and titles.

However, that is no longer true now, as the people expect to see tangible outcomes from elected officials before trusting them.

"The game has changed. It is incumbent on you to prove why you are to be trusted," Shahril said.

He also likened Malaysia to the US and the UK, saying that those two are "developed countries that provide good services for their people".

"In many ways, they are countries that we want to emulate in some form.

"But the governments (in US and UK) also have low trust from their people," Shahril said.

The trust barometer study was conducted by Edelman Malaysia among 33,000 people in 28 countries, and the results for this year were presented earlier today.

It revealed that trust in government in Malaysia had fallen seven points to 39 percent among the general population and 11 points to 34 percent among the informed public.